Caisson.



O. G. EDWARDS, JR. -CAISSON.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 29, 1908.

" Patented May 7, 1912.

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Patented May 7, 1912.

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GAISSON.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 29, 1908.

Patented May'7, 1912.

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0. C. EDWARDS, JR. GAISSON.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 29, 1908.

O. G. EDWARDS, JR.

CAISSON.

' APPLIOATION FILED MAY 29,1908.

Patented May/7, 1912;

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APPLICATION FILED MAY 29, 1908.

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OAISSON.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 29, 1908,

Patented May 7, 1912.

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GAISSON.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 29, 1908.

Patented May 7, 1912.

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APPLIOATION FILED MAY 29, 1908.

I Patented May 7, 1912.

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APPLICATION FILED MAY 29, 1908.

Patented May 7, 1912.

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AIPLIOATION FILED MAY 29, 1908.

Patented May 7, 1912.

17 SHEETS-SHEET 14.

WITNESSES [/VVE/VTOR coLuMmA PLANOGRAPII C0.,\VASHINGTON, u. c.

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APPLICATION FILED MAY 29, 1908.

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1,025,614. Patented May 7, 1912. 17 SHEETS-SHEET 17.

m //7II I WITNESSES JNVENTOR W 4 By W COLUMBIA P ANOORQPH C0.,WASHINGTON D I:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OLIVER CROMWELL EDWARDS, JR., F TROY, NEW YORK.

CAISSON.

description of the invention, such as will,

enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in air shafts and locks therefor, and particulai'ly to the type designed both for man and spoil use, and one of the objects in view is the accommodation of a maximum intake in a minimum space, and the facilitating of removal of the parts of the shaft from surrounding masonry.

A further object in view is the operation and control of the several parts of the look by a single lock tender positioned on the outside of the lock.

Vith these and further objects in view, the invention comprises certain novel constructions, combinations and arrangements of parts as will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings :-Figure 1 is a longitudinal, vertical, central section of an air lock and shaft embodying the features of the present invention. Fig. 1 is a view in elevation of the lock and upper end of the shaft. Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof. Fig. 3 is a similar view to Fig.

1 taken at right angles to the. planes of observation in said figure. Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 of the upper section of the lock seen on an enlarged scale and intermediate parts being broken away. Fig. 5 is a top plan view thereof. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal, vertical section taken on the plane indicated by line 6, 6 of Figs. at and 5, and line 6, 6 of Fig. 7, intermediate portions being broken away. Fig. 7 is a horizontal section taken on the plane indicated by line 7, 7 of Fig. 6 looking downwardly. Fig. 8 is a view in side elevation of the upper section door detached looking at the inner surface of the door, with curve undeveloped. Fig. 9 is an enlarged, detail, vertical section through one of the rollers of the upper section door and surrounding parts. Fig. 10 is a detail fragment of the 5 rail for said rollers showing'the fore stop Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 29, 1908.

Patented May 7, 1912. Serial No. 435,775.

for the door in elevation. Fig. 11 is a verti cal section taken on the plane indicated by line 11, 11 of Fig. 10. Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 10 of the back stop of the door. Fig. 13 isaview similar to Fig. 11 of the said back stop. Fig. 14 is an enlarged, detail, top plan view of the hinge plate for the upper section door, parts being broken away for indicating contiguous parts. Fig. 15 is a vertical section taken on theplane indicated by line 15, 15 of Fig. 14. Fig.

16 is a V16W- in elevation on an enlarged scale of the hand hold for the upper section door looking at the inside. Fig. 17

is a vertical section therethrough taken on the plane indicated by line 17, 17 of Fig. 16. Fig. 18 is a horizontal section taken on the plane indicated by line 18, 18 of Fig. 16, a fragment of the contiguous portion of the shell being shown. Fig. 19 is a view in elevation of the mounting for the peep hole showing a fragment of the shell of the upper section. Fig. 20 is a vertical section taken on the plane indicated by line 20, 20 of Fig. 19. Fig. 21 is a horizontal section taken on the plane indicated by line 21, 21 of Fig. 19. Fig. 22 is a top plan view of the lower section with the upper section removed. Fig. 23 is a sect-ion therethrough taken on the plane indicated by line 23, 23 of Fig. 22, a fragment of the upper section being shown, the door rail and connections being omitted and a fragment of the air shaft being illustrated in position beneath the lower section. Fig. 24 is a detail section showing the keyed connection between one of the lower door supporting arms and its rock shaft. Fig. 25 is a view in front elevation of the parts seen in Fig. 23. Fig. 26 is a vertical section taken transversely through the rock shaft for the lower door and showing one of the glands therefor in elevation. Fig. 27 is a vertical section taken longitudinally through the said rock shaft and surrounding parts on the plane indicated by line 27, 27 of Fig. 26. Fig. 28 is a view in elevation of one set of blocks constituting one of the counterbalance weights for the lower door. Fig. 28 is an inverted plan view thereof. Fig. 29 is a top plan view thereof showing the guides in plan and a fragment of the front plate in section. Fig. 30 is a fragmentary, vertical section through the front plate and rock shaft for the lower door, one of the jack levers for the rock shaft being seen in outline with its Connected cable, the guiding rollers for said cable being seen in dotted lines and thebracket for said rollers being seen in elevation. Fig. 31 is a top plan view of the said jack lever, a fragment only of the shaft being seen. Fig. 32 is a horizontal section taken on the plane indicated by line 32, 32 of Fig. 30 and looking downwardly. Fig. 33 is a View in side elevation of one of the ladder rounds for the air lock, a fragment of the shell of the lower section being seen. Fig. 34 is a horizontal section taken on the. plane indicated by line 34, 34 of Fig. 33. Fig. 35 is a vertical section taken through the caisson, a fragment of which is seen in Fig. 1, showing the working chamber door for the air shaft in end edge view. Fig. 36 is a top plan view of said door detached and showing the supporting rods therefor. Fig. 37 is a section taken on the plane indicated by line 37, 37 of Fig. 35, and looking in the direction indicated by the arrow. Fig. 38 is a top plan view of a concrete hopper. Fig. 39 is a vertical section therethrough taken on the plane indicated by line 39, 39' of Fig. 38, andillustrated as being positioned within the upper section of the air look, a fragment of the upper section of the air lock being illustrated in section. Fig. 40 is a view in elevation of a fragment of the hopper showing one of the detachable joints thereof. Fig. 41 is a vertical section taken on the plane indicated by line 41, 41 of Fig. 40. Fig. 42 is a vertical section through a relatively small caisson showing the supporting means for the chamber door altered to adapt the door for manipulation in the relatively small cross section of the working chamber. Fig. 43 is a top plan view of a slightly modified form of air lock. Fig. 44 is a fragmentary elevation of the upper end of the top section thereof. Fig. 45 is a view in elevation of the inner end of one of the sections of the air shaft, the right hand edge being shown in the condition before being bent, and the left hand edge indicating the condition after being bent and trimmed. Fig. 46 is a vertical sectional view therethrough taken on the plane in dicated by line 46, 46 of Fig. 45. Fig. 47 is a view in elevation of the left hand edge of the section of shell seen in Fig. 45. Fig. 48 is a similar view of the opposite edge of the said sect-ion of shell. Fig. 49 is a view in elevation of the inner surface of a fragment of the air shaft showing the ladder thereof in elevation. Fig. 50 is a longitudinal, vertical, central section taken on the plane indicated by line 50, 50 of Fig. 49. Fig. 51 is a transverse, horizontal section taken on the plane indicated by line 51, 51 of Fig. 49 and looking downwardly. Fig. 52 is a longitudinal, vertical section through a fragment of the shell of the shaft showing the connect-ion of the segments of the shell in detail. Fig. 53 is a horizontal section taken on the plane indicated by line 53, 53 of Fig. 52. Fig. 54 is a similar section taken on the plane indicated by line 54, 54 of Fig. 52. Fig. 55 is a horizontal section taken transversely through one of the bucket guides on the plane indicated by line 55, 55 of Fig. 45. Fig. 56 is an enlarged, detail, horizontal section through a fragment of one of the ladder supporting brackets and connect-- ing parts.

In the caisson art it has been proposed to eliminate the objectionable inwardly opening doors of the upper section of an air lock either by outwardly sliding, horizontal doors or outwardly swinging doors, but the outwardly sliding doors, of course, involve a permanent structure projecting laterally beyond the walls of the air lock and interfering with the contiguous structural work, and the outwardly swinging doors are correspondingly objectionable in requiring the maintenance of suflicient clearance for swinging such doors, and I therefore propose to obviate these objections by providing a door which moves about the longitudinal axis of the lock and concentric to the walls thereof.

It has been common heretofore to construct air shafts of tubular casings, which, after the completion of the masonry work, have usually been found to be so tightly wedged or so firmly retained by the adhesion of the surrounding concrete as to be rendered immovable, so that the practice of filling the working chamber and air shafts with masonry and leaving the casings in place in the finished structure is now ordinarily followed. It has, however, been pro posed to remove the casings by forming them of longitudinal segments bolted together, but difiiculty has been experienced in so uniting the segments as to prevent leakage, and my invention,-among other things, contemplates the provision of a collapsible air shaft which may be produced at a relatively small expense, and at the same time is largely free from liability of leakage at the joints of the collapsible sections.

Referring to the drawings by numerals. 1 indicates a roof of a caisson constructed in any preferred manner with a suitable working chamber having upright inclosing walls 2 and the usual cutting edge 3. The roof 1 is penetrated by an opening 4 adapted to be closed by a sliding door 4, and leading upwardly from which is the air shaft 5 surrounded by the concrete or other masonry 6. To the upper end of the air shaft 5 is connected the air lock 7, the air lock and shaft being constructed in detail in the manner hereinafter specifically mentioned.

For a detail understanding of the construction of the air lock reference is had particularly to Figs. 1 to 34 inclusive and Figs. 43 and 44. The air lock is composed of two sections, an upper section and a lower section, and the upper section consists of a preferably cylindrical shell 8 having a slide door 9 movable about the longitudinal axis of the shell and concentric to the walls of the shell as hereinafter mentioned, and a roof, head or cover 10 closing the upper end of the shell. The door 9 is positioned vertically and extends preferably substantially the full length of the shell 8, and at its lower end, as best seen in Figs. 8 and 9, is supported by rollers 11, 11 journaled on shafts 12, 12, each fixed to the door at one end and at the opposite end sustained by an inwardly bent bracket 13. The several rollers 11 are mounted to run on a flat bar track 14 which is sustained by bolts 15 extending through and carried by the shell 8 at those points where the track 14 extends contiguous to the shell and carried by a connecting strip or plate 16 forming the sill or brace plate for the lower end of the door-way for door 9 at those points where the track 14 extends contiguous to said plate 16. Each of the bolts 15 is provided with a spacing collar 17 between its supporting wall or plate and the track bar 14 and a nut 18 engages the inner end of the bolt and firmly retains the bar 14 in position, the bolt extending through a suitable aperture in the bar. An angle bar ring 19 is fixed to the lower edge of the shell. 8 and plate 16 for stiffening the same, and said plate and shell are further rigidly secured together by splice plates 20, 20, arranged at the ends of the plate 16 and rigidly secured to said plate and to the shell 8. To prevent leakage when the door is closed a suitable packing gasket 21, preferably of rubber, is arranged between the plate 16 and the outer surface of the door 9. The door 9 is arranged to more just inside the shell, and the track bar 14 extends from a point beyond the door-way for door 9 at one side thereof to a point considerably beyond the door-way at the other side thereof, the bar 14 being arranged concentric to the shell and being of sufficient length to permit the door 9 to be moved about inside the shell until the entire door-way is open. In order to prevent movement of the door to an un-. desirable extent, the opposite ends of the track bar 14 are provided with stops, a back stop 23 being provided to limit the inward or opening movement of the door, and a similarly constructed fore stop 22 is provided for limiting the return or closing movement of the door 9. Each of the said stops consists simply of a suitable hookshaped plate 24, the hook being positioned to inclose the track bar 14 and being apertured and mounted on one of the bolts 15, the upper end of the plate 24 being preferably bent outwardly, as at 25, into the path of movement of the respective edge of the door 9.

As best seen in Figs. 6, 14 and 15, the upper end of the door 9 is guided in its movement by a hinged connection consisting of a radial plate 26 which is fixed at its outer end to the upper end of the door 9 as by bracket 26, and is pivoted at its inner end to swing about the center of the shell. The head 10 is provided with a central, annular aperture 27 and a slot or openin 28 extends radially from'said aperture to the periphery of the head, and is preferably provided at its outer end with a flaring opening or mouth 28 disposed centrally of the door way for door 94 Within the aperture 27 is pivotally mounted a hub or pivot block 29 which preferably fits snugly within the aperture 27 and is fixed to the plate 26 in any preferred manner as by being provided with an annular flange 30 beneath the plate 26 and through which are passed screws 31 intothe plate 26. The block or hub 29 is sustained in position by a plate 32 which is secured by screws 33 or otherwise suitably fixed to the block 29 and which overhangs portions of the head 10, as clearly seen in Figs. 14 and 15. To prevent lateral play of the parts, and also to avoid the collection of foreign substance about the moving parts a casing is provided to cover the same, such casing comprising a plate 35 secured, as by bolts 36, to the head 10 above the aperture 27, and a gasket 34 interposed between the plate 35 and the head 10, the gasket 34 being formed with a segmental slot 337 permit ting movement of the plate 32 and guiding the same. The plate 35 and gasket 34 are provided with central registering apertures 38 which also register with the opening 29 through block 29 and constitute a continuous opening for the bucket cable. Leading from the opening 38 of the plate. 35 and gasket 34 are registering slots 39 which lead to the inner end of the slot 28, the said slot 28 being preferably restricted as itapproaches its inner end. The block 29 and plate 26 are provided with a radial slot 40 leading from the aperture or passage 29 to the periphery of flange 30 and the inner end of plate 26 and adapted in operation to be brought into register with the slots 39 when the block 29 is revolved by the opening movement of the door 9. In order as far as possible to eliminate leakage about the moving parts, a gasket 41 is secured to the under face of the head 10 above the inner end of the plate 26. To facilitate manual opening and closing of the door 9 a hand hold 42 is provided as best seen in Figs. 1.6, 17 and 18, the material of the door being cut away, as at 43, and supplemented by an inwardly stamped plate 44 riveted to the door 9 about the edges of the opening 43. 

